Hobson's Choice: 2-0 Bengals try to beat injuries

[Arkansas Bengal]

Hobson's Choice: 2-0 Bengals try to beat injuries

Posted 53 minutes ago

Geoff Hobson Editor Bengals.com 

 

Look for Ryan Hewitt's role to expand with tight end Alex Smith expected to go to season-ending injured reserve,

I heard they were looking for names for Bernard and Hill. Here are a couple I thought of. Slash & Smash Flash & Steel Smash & Gash Just thought I would give them to someone! Paul Kunkel, Aurora, IN

PAUL: Thanks for the ideas. I’ve been toying with some but it’s tough because like Gio said after the game, they may be more similar than different. It’s just that one, the 6-1, 230-pound Hill, is bigger and the 5-9, 205-pound Bernard is quicker.

But Gio has enough toughness and pop that on Sunday he bowled over the four-yard line for a touchdown. Hill has enough juice that he left a Pro Bowl safety, William Moore, looking like a geranium in the middle of the field with a juke that accounted for most of his 18 yards after catch.

I don’t know. G-Whiz and J-Please? I guess we’ll keep working on it.

Do you think Hewitt is a viable option as a TE? He did an outstanding job blocking against the Falcons, but we haven't seen him in the passing game. Thank you. Jerry Webster, Brooksville, FL

JERRY: Yes, I think he is. He’s not as dynamic in the passing game as Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert, but he’s solid and he’s better than Alex Smith, who is looking at season-ending injured reserve, in all areas. Hewitt has been terrific in his first two NFL games and he’ll probably get more chances to get the ball now.

But on Tuesday they’ll still sign a veteran blocking-oriented tight end to replace Smith because the sense is they’re still going to use Hewitt as a swingman at fullback and tight end. And it will be no surprise if that veteran is Kevin Brock, who was here all of training camp and been with six teams since ’09. It’s nice when you have your own journeyman. And I mean that in a good way. He's been around and knows the system and I would think they'd want to stick in-house.

Who Dey, Geoff! Who do you think is the biggest concern for the Bengals injury wise going forward? Also, who is a player that you think will emerge as the season goes on after limited playing time so far? Rich Hidy, Cincinnati, OH

RICH: What doesn’t concern me? Start with Pro Bowl WILL backer Vontaze Burfict.  You have to be worried after he suffered a concussion in Week One and then getting drilled by his own guy in the head and leaving Week Two with a stinger (pinched nerve). I’m not sure he’ll play this Sunday against Tennessee and the bye the next week is good for him. You know Vincent Rey has and will do a capable job backing him up. But there’s only one Burfict in the league and he’s special.

Two of their best linemen this season, right guard Kevin Zeitler (calf) and defensive tackle Brandon Thompson (knee) look like they could be out for a while.

You hate to fool with the chemistry of a line that has yet to allow a sack, but that said Mike Pollak played right guard in the second half and they scored two touchdowns.  Thompson has made Geno Atkins’ rehab form ACL surgery not as noticeable. The great thing about the Bengals’ front four is the lack of drop off in the rotation and now you take away one of those guys.

I still think at some point first-round pick Darqueze Dennard is going to make a big contribution at cornerback in his rookie season, but he’s still getting the rust off from his hip injury. He took 15 snaps on special teams in his NFL debut Sunday, but none at corner.   

 We've all seen Mohamed Sanu's dynamic arm, and it got me wondering. If Andy and Jason went down in the same game, who would be the emergency qb? Tim Rogers, Lexington, KY

TIM: You’d think if it wasn’t Sanu, we’d have the first emergency quarterback controversy in history. I’m waiting to see Sanu line up as a QB in a non-emergency situation. You know that has to be coming.

Does Adam Jones return punts with a better possibility of a return while Brandon Tate returns the other ones? How does that committee work? Colin Madigan, Westerville, OH

COLIN:  It’s more of a feel thing for special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons. Since Jones is one of the three regular cornerbacks, more often than not he has just played the third-own snap to force the punt. So what happened on that snap? Did he just get gassed after running full out on a route? Did he have to make the tackle? How many snaps has the defense been on the field recently? And, at that point in the game do you need a spark?

Plus, remember, Tate has had to play many more snaps from scrimmage at receiver than usual in the first two games because of the injuries to A.J. Green and Marvin Jones and Adam Jones is playing fewer snaps at corner because Leon Hall is back. That’s a reason Jones has had more looks early returning this season than he did late last year with Hall out.

Mainly, it’s how Simmons feels everyone is faring at that point in the game.

Andy Dalton looks at ease in the pocket these days.

I would like to get your thoughts on Andy going back as far as training camp until the present. Dalton looks like a brand new QB. What have you seen that he is doing different as far as mechanics and how he now approaches the game? Thank you and keep up the great work you do! Kenny Moore, Bluefield, WVA

KENNY: Thank you. The late Tom Borelli, one of the best sports writers I ever worked with back in the day in Binghamton, N.Y., broke in at the Bluefield paper and always spoke fondly of those days.

From what I can see, it’s his decisiveness. He’s getting the ball out of there in a nanosecond. After the Atlanta game, profootballfocus.com had Dalton with the second quickest average throw from the snap in the NFL (2.21 seconds) to only Peyton Manning’s 1.98.

I think new offensive coordinator Hue Jackson has eliminated the gray area for him. He gives him a couple of tasks on each throw and if it’s not there, throw it away. There’s little room for interpretation.  It shows how comfortable he is and why not? The offensive line has yet to allow a sack after an offseason they worked on better spacing in the pocket. You just don’t see as many people, particularly people up the middle right in front of him, in his face.

Since he signed a six-year extension back on Aug. 4, he seems to be, at least to me, more relaxed and assertive. At least with the media, but that’s usually a sign it’s happening elsewhere in the building.  

 Hey Geoff, Bengals fan since the stripes (1981) and big fan of your take on things. Two issues: One, its obvious the Devon Still story is a great one for both the family and the Bengals, especially during the "trying" times the NFL is having now. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but in my mind the Bengals are already champions for showing outstanding class.

The question I have concerns the tight ends. With Eifert out for a while and Smith not looking probable, do we start looking for a journeyman tight end, use the practice squad, or change the offensive alignment to fill this gap? I know we ran the ball well on Sunday against the Falcons, but down the stretch the AFC "run and grind" looks formidable. Do you think this needs to be a matter of getting another capable tight end, or adjustments by Mr. Jackson? Thank you, and please keep up the great coverage. Ryan “Irish,” Flanigan, Ripon, WI

 IRISH: Thank you very much to Zeitlerland, as well as the home state of Bengals.com’s Vicar of Video, Steven Hudy.

As far as the tight ends go, the thinking is they’ll sign on Tuesday a veteran blocking type to replace Alex Smith. Probably Brock. So you’ll get a combination of things. You’ll get some X and O adjustments and you’ll probably get a little more of Hewitt in the pass game. With Hewitt, who is pushing Hill for the club’s Rookie of the Year early on, you might not get as many double tight-end sets as they did when Eifert was up, but you’ll get enough.

You’re right. The Still story is beautiful. I don’t know how he does it. There’s no way I could handle it like the way he’s handled it. I’d be out of my mind and he’s been an elder statesman.

It also shows you what great people populate the countryside in Bengaldom all over the world. For every heart-wrenching headline on CNN, there are two No. 75 jerseys sold.  

The Bengals have started the season at 2-0. They have some key players out to injuries right now, and they are still playing good. Do you think this Bengals team is capable of first making it to the playoffs again and second can this team win a playoff game? Heather Meadows, Middletown, OH

HEATHER: They’re certainly capable. They can’t keep getting hurt, but the Atlanta victory shows how special and deep this roster is. If they keep this same formula and mindset: never wholly abandoning the run while imposing their will up front on a mistake-free offense as well as being stingy and reliable on defense and special teams, yes. That’s playoff football. That’s what has defeated them the last three Januarys. They stick with that and they’re the AFC equivalent of Seattle.

Hey Mr. Hobson, I come from a family of life time fans, and I wanna say thanks on behalf of the Romines for the unfiltered and inside view of what's happening with the team through out the week and during the offseason events. My question this week is in relation to respect the Bengals get, or lack there of.

I'm sure there are fans of other teams who feel their team is slighted as well, but the way the Bengals have been treated for years is sickening. This off season I watched the lnside training camp broadcasts, I watch shows on certain football networks daily, as well as various other shows. Most never speak a lick of Cincy. And the few that bring up some form of the bengals simply degrade them or refer to them being inferior to either Baltimore or that dirty black and yellow team we play twice a year. During training camp. They promise every team, and after two weeks, I got a five minute preview of a weight room shot that looked a few years old. Why are the Bengals shunned so often, and why does the only interest we seem to get generally be the bad? We are no longer the bungles. This isn't even the team from 05' that made the playoffs. Cincy is a young talented team that will hopefully get over the hump and silence the negativity and comand the attention of the nation as a contender for years to come. Reggie Romine, Xenia, OH

REGGIE: Thanks to you and your family for the support and I hear you.

We’ve probably all got some small-market insecurity embedded in us somewhere, but sometimes I have some of your same thoughts. Of course, be careful what you wish for you and you get a media circus if a veteran simply walks into minicamp after not showing for the voluntary workouts.

In my mind, that’s why they’ve won since pretty much 2009. They’ve stayed away from the sideshows. They’ve done what they’re supposed to do. They’ve kept their coaching staff stable, they’ve drafted players willing to blend into the locker room, they’ve signed their best players when they’re supposed to sign them. They’ve drafted well and made them better,

So there are no headlines. There are no stories. It’s like the old newspaper adage. News is defined as “Man Bites Dog.” The Bengals have been biting man and that’s not good enough to be saturated weekly by NFL pundits. And, as Marvin Lewis himself would say, ‘That’s a good thing.’

If they drafted Johnny Manziel, worked out Tim Tebow, or tweaked the commissioner, then the cameras would be here all the time. But all they’ve done since pretty much ‘09 is win games most of the time. Is it a coincidence the last time they had a losing season (2010), they also hosted a reality TV show?

Yet, you also can’t underestimate how much not winning a playoff game in the last three years has hurt them nationally. It may be a bit unfair, but that is also the truth of it. To get there three straight times and four out of the last five years just isn’t easy. Only New England, Denver, Green Bay and San Francisco have also been to three straight, but you wouldn’t know it because those other four teams win in January and get to Super Bowls

So some of it is deserved, some of it not, and some of it is just small-market insecurity.    

Hey Geoff, Been reading you daily (just about) since I left Cincinnati for school back in 1996. How great is it to see this team in this shape after The Lost Decade? I know we're only an eighth of the way home, but compared to the other teams I've seen this year the Bengals look fantastic. I hope the Who Dey fanatics take time to stop and appreciate the feeling! Time to get 150% behind this team and to pack the Jungle like we did back in '88 to show Dalton and the boys some love. I know things in the NFL can change on a dime, but this year feels like it could be special. C'mon Cincinnati! Let yourself fall in love with this team! WHO DEY!!! Mike Herring, Chicago, IL

MIKE: That takes us back to the Willie Anderson draft. Thanks for checking in.

I’m happiest for the kids of the ‘90s because I’ve got some of my own. They’ve grown up and gone away and have left Jeff Blake posters on the wall and Ki-Jana Carter football cards in the drawers. But they make sure every Sunday, even though they are hundreds of miles away from Paul Brown Stadium that they are either watching them or listening to Hoardie and Lap. To see a happy text (“Hue running the ball and I love it”) or reading a post-win e-mail saying they’re headed to the next AFC showdown on the road is sweet. The Lost Decade truly seems to be lost.

 

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